Gatherer's Garden
Located at various points throughout Rapture, a Gatherer's Garden is a vending machine that allows the player to purchase Plasmids, Gene Tonics, Plasmid Slots, Gene Tonic Slots, Health Upgrades, and EVE Upgrades. ADAM is used as currency for these purchases. When the player character is rewarded for rescuing Little Sisters, the Gatherer's Garden is the location where the gifts are left, stuffed inside a teddy bear. Unlike other machines found in Rapture, the Gatherer's Garden cannot be hacked. History The Gatherer's Garden machines played an integral part in the downfall of Rapture. The city's populace were open to new ideas and experiences, but even they must have at first balked at the idea of injecting strange chemicals into their body to gain unimaginable powers.From the BioShock Public Address Announcement for Fresh Hair: Frank: "Hey, I don't go in for all that splicing stuff, my buddy says it's not safe." Frank Fontaine may have been the first man to understand the power of the Plasmid Industry, but it was under Andrew Ryan that the act of splicing became a normal part of everyday life. Ryan Industries designed and produced the Gatherer's Garden. It was essential that customers who wanted to splice (and who could afford the hefty price) could get their hands on the various genetic products without hassle. Fontaine had used large, ornate showrooms like Fontaine Plasmids in Fontaine's Department Store, but Ryan Industries designers chose a more direct and informal vending machine format. The machines were a credit to Rapture craftsmanship (solidly built and utterly unhackable), but their true value was the fact that now obtaining genetic-enhancements was as easy and everyday as buying a bottle of soda. Under Fontaine, the Little Sisters were hidden from public sight out of concern over public outrage, but Ryan saw them as a marketing tool.Andrew Ryan's Audio Diary: Marketing Gold In a further act of exploitation of the children, he dressed the girls up as mascots of the Plasmid Industry and had their likeness appear alongside the vending machines. This clever yet nefarious bit of marketing naturalized splicing, the Little Sisters, and their gathering activities all in one fell swoop. With an adorable mascot, a catchy jingle, and an easily-accessible site to splice, the act of genetic alteration became an effortless, stigma-free, and even ubiquitous activity. This ease of access would open the door to ADAM-abuse, the breakdown of civilized society, and the Rapture Civil War. ''BioShock'' .]] Later Gatherer's Gardens offer more Plasmids and Tonics, as well as upgraded versions of older ones. However, some Gatherer's Gardens do not offer the lower level tonics found in earlier levels, which are needed to get the Tonic Collector achievement and the Tonic Collector trophy in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. If a Gatherer's Garden offers an upgrade of a Plasmid the player doesn't own or has a much lower level of, it automatically replaces it (with the exception of Sonic Boom), which could save ADAM in the long run (i.e. if the player doesn't own Insect Swarm, but chose to buy it when level three is sold, then one would save ADAM due to not buying levels one and two). Tonics, on the other hand, have cumulative effects. '''Note:' The player cannot use a Gatherer's Garden while suffering from Lot 192's side effects. ''BioShock 2'' .]] In ''BioShock 2, the player must possess the lower form of a Plasmid in order to purchase the upgraded rank. However, all machines sell the base form of a Plasmid. In addition to the gifts the Little Sisters will leave as a reward for kindness, the Gatherer's Garden serves as the site where a few of Eleanor Lamb's gifts for Subject Delta can be located. ''Minerva's Den'' Contrary to BioShock 2, no Gatherer's Gardens sell the base form of Plasmids found in Minerva's Den, with the exception of Security Command. ''BioShock 2 Multiplayer'' The Gatherer's Garden makes a return in the multiplayer maps of Arcadia and Hephaestus. The Gardens are broken or off. Either way, they are inaccessible to the fighting players. ''BioShock Infinite'' During the end of BioShock Infinite, Elizabeth opens up a Tear to Rapture with Booker DeWitt and Songbird. The trio ends up in the Welcome Center, where the very same Gatherer's Garden Jack used in BioShock can be found, only closed and unusable. ''Burial at Sea - Episode 2'' During the final part of the episode, Elizabeth, having retrieved the Ace in the Hole, exits Dr. Suchong's Free Clinic through a broken wall to meet up with Atlas. She ends up in a dark hallway with several broken and looted Gatherer's Gardens. Gallery Gatherer's Garden Concept Art.png|''Concept art for the design of the Gatherer's Garden.'' Gatherer machine-Mauricio Tejerina.jpg|''Concept art and an early design of the Gatherer's Garden.'' Vendsign diffuse.png|''Texture-Direct Version of the sign.'' GGPlasmidImage.png|''A Plasmid seen in the Gatherer's Garden machine.'' B1 GatherersGarden Interface.png|''The vending screen of Gatherer's Garden in'' BioShock. B2 GatherersGarden Interface.png|''The vending screen of Gatherer's Garden in'' BioShock 2. Behind the Scenes *An early design of the Gatherer's Garden featured EVE Hypos in the two slots above the Plasmid bottles in the machine, which are empty in the final version of the game. *The Plasmid bottles seen in the machine (see the gallery above) are 2D images in all the Gatherer's Garden appearances in the BioShock series. *Although Burial at Sea - Episode 1 doesn't include the Gatherer's Garden, a structure in front of Little Wonders Educational Facility in Market Street uses the same model of the machine and the two Little Sisters beside it, advertising the facility. **The Little Sister dolls, found on a shelf in the Toy Department of Fontaine's, will quote the Gatherer's Garden's slogan when pressed. References de:Gatherer's Garden es:Jardín de las Recolectoras fr:Jardin des Glaneuses ru:Сад Собирателей Category:Rapture Businesses Category:Vending Machines